


Roommates and Rainstorms

by Briar0942



Series: Rainstorms [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Captain Swan - Freeform, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-27
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-07-18 03:46:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16110140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Briar0942/pseuds/Briar0942
Summary: Killian Jones is a slightly bitter and very tired high school teacher who's roommate just moved out.Emma Swan is a bail bondsperson looking for something of her own. She finds Killian's ad for a new roommate and decides to move out of her best friends' apartment and live with him.They're only slightly attracted to each other when they first meet but that's not important. They can make this work. They will make this work.





	1. Chapter 1

Emma Swan really needed a new place to live that wasn’t David and Mary Margaret Nolan’s apartment. She didn’t even have a room, she just slept on the couch. She didn’t sleep very well. But, it’s been two months since Emma moved to New York and got a job as a bail bondsperson, and she really needed to start getting sleep.

So, she looked wherever she could to find apartment listings. She found one after a week of searching, some guy named Killian Jones looking for a roommate. It didn’t seem like such a bad deal, Emma would get her own bedroom and bathroom, and it was fairly cheap. Emma called the number listed and only winced slightly when she realized it was eight in the morning on a Saturday. Killian Jones picked up on the fifth ring. “Hello?” He asked, his voice scratchy. 

“Hi, my name’s Emma Swan, I’m calling about the extra room in the apartment?”

Killian was quiet for a moment. “Right, yeah, of course. Honestly, I’ve only had that ad up for a day, so you’re the first one to even mention it. Can you stop by around noon and we can meet and you can see if you like the place?” He asked.

Emma nodded, though she knew he couldn’t see her. “Sounds great, I’ll see you then.”

“Yeah, see you then.” Both of them hung up and Emma dropped back down onto the couch. “I’m heading out to see an apartment today,” she said to the kitchen, where she knew Mary Margaret and David were.

There was the sound of bacon sizzling on a pan. “That’s great, Em, where is it?” David asked.

“Just a few blocks north of here, I think,” Emma answered, looking at the map on her phone. “Is the bacon done yet?” She asked, pushing herself up off the couch. David was pulling pieces of a pan, and Mary Margaret was getting the syrup out of the pantry for the pancakes. Emma piled a few of each on her plate. “You know you guys are the actual best right?” She asked.

Both just grinned. “Of course we know, Emma, but apparently you don’t because you’re leaving us,” Mary Margaret pointed out.

Emma gave her a look. “We’ve been over this, Snow, it’s not personal, I just don’t think my back could handle sleeping on the couch for another month,” she said, using the nickname from years before. 

“I know that too, I’m just giving you a hard time. Plus, we all know you’re still going to be over here all the time,” Mary Margaret said, smiling at her friend.

 

Emma left the Nolan apartment a few minutes before noon and made her way over to Killian Jones’ apartment building. He buzzed her in and she used the stairs to get to the third floor and once she found the right door, she knocked. A man with black hair that was sticking up in all directions and too-blue eyes opened the door. “Am I right in assuming you’re Killian Jones?” Emma asked.

The man nodded. “Aye. That must make you Emma Swan,” he replied, and Emma nodded. Killian motioned for her to come in. “Take a look around, see if you like the place,” he said. 

It wasn’t a huge apartment, had a bedroom on each side of the connected living room and kitchen, and a bathroom across the room on the right. Emma wandered over there, noticing how clean it all was. There was still a bed in the bedroom when Emma walked in, Killian trailing a little ways behind her. He leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms. “You wouldn’t have to keep that, you would be able to bring in your own bed if you wanted,” Killian said, answered Emma’s unspoken question. 

Emma shrugged. “It looks like a step-up from the couch I’m sleeping on right now,” she commented and sat down on it. It was pretty comfy. There was also a decent amount of closet space. That would be nice. 

“I’m sorry, did you just say you were sleeping on a couch?” Killian asked, breaking into her thoughts.

“Yeah, I’ve been staying at my friends’ apartment for the last two months, but they don’t have a guest room and I didn’t want to use the air mattress because that’d take too much room, so the couch was really the only option besides the floor,” Emma explained. 

Killian looked like he didn’t really know how to respond to that. “Right, well, anyway, what do you think of the place?” He asked.

“Looks pretty nice. I think I could see myself living here,” Emma answered, finally getting off the bed and followed Killian back into the living room/kitchen. They sat down on the stools next to the counter. 

“Is it alright if I ask you a few questions? Just, you know, if we’re roommates we’ll be seeing each other quite often, and I’d rather have a roommate I don’t hate,” Killian said.

“I get it, fire away.”

“First question is about your job. I’m a high school teacher and with the way some of these teenagers act, I enjoy getting at least some sleep, so, what is your job?”

“I’m a bail bondsperson. I catch people who skip their bail. Most of the time it’s regular hours, but sometimes I don’t get home until elevenish, so it varies. But, over the last two months, I’ve become very skilled at coming home extremely quietly and not waking anyone up,” Emma answered. “What do you teach?”

“Freshman biology. It’s barely been a month and I swear seventy percent of those kids just don’t turn their work in. There’s only been like three assignments!” Killian said, throwing his hands up for dramatic effect. It was then Emma noticed the prosthetic attached to his left wrist. She didn’t say anything about it. “Anyways, do you like the place? Okay with the company even though we don’t actually know each other?” He asked.

Emma nodded and smiled a little. “Yeah, it’s a nice place, and the company doesn’t seem too bad either,” she answered.

One side of Killian’s mouth ticked up into a half-smile. “I happen to be delightful, you can ask either of my two friends for confirmation,” he paused for a second. “No, scratch that, they’re both assholes and would tell you I’m terrible. Please never meet my friends,” he said.

Emma’s smile grew. “I’ll do my best. I have the opposite problem, though, my friends talk me up way too much and then people are disappointed when they actually meet me,” she said, and immediately regretted it, the smile falling from her face. “Sorry, that was a little...well, my humor’s really weird and tends to make people who haven’t known me for a while a bit uncomfortable,” she apologized.

Killian just shook his head once. “Don’t worry, Swan, I tend to do kind of the same thing. It usually causes one of my friends to smack me,” he said, the nickname falling out of his mouth naturally, as if he’d been calling her that for years. “And, for the record, I’m not disappointed.”

Emma’s smiled returned a little. “My friends also haven’t talked me up yet, so you have nothing to go off of,” she countered.

“That is true, but I still don’t think I’d be disappointed,” Killian said, running a hand through his hair. “Anyways, uh, are we okay? You still want to move in?” He asked, effectively changing the subject.

Emma nodded. “Yeah, I still want to move in,” she confirmed.

“When do you think you’ll be able to actually move in?”

“Probably tomorrow, if that works with you,” Emma added quickly. 

Killian nodded. “Tomorrow’s fine, but won’t you need a few days to pack?” He asked.

Emma gave him a look. “I’m living on a couch right now. I think I have, like, one box of stuff, one box of clothes, and then everything else is in a suitcase. And, the two boxes never got unpacked,” she explained.

“Tidy,” Killian said and stood up, then pulled a key out of a drawer and sliding it across the counter to Emma. “This is yours. I’ll probably be home tomorrow when you get here, but just in case I’m not, use that. Oh, and–before I forget–the apartment’s under my name, so you’ll give your half of the rent to me, and I’ll give it to the landlord. That okay?” He asked.

Emma nodded. “Of course. But I have to ask, I know you’re a teacher and all, but you could still afford this place on your own. Why have a roommate?” She asked.

Killian scratched behind his ear. “Just that it’s two bedrooms, and I don’t need all this space for me. Plus, it means I get to save a few dollars every month,” he added, a half-smile appearing again. 

“I get it.” Emma stood up and slipped the key onto a lanyard with her car keys. “So, I’ll see you tomorrow? And, you know, indefinitely or something?” She asked and almost physically cringed at how it sounded. 

But if Killian thought it was weird, he just tilted his head a little, a small smirk replacing his half-smile. “I wouldn’t mind indefinitely with you,” he said.

Emma rolled her eyes, but she smiled. “Probably shouldn’t flirt too much, we’re gonna be living together, not dating. See you tomorrow,” she said, walking towards the door. 

“Aye, tomorrow and indefinitely.” Emma didn’t turn around, just kept walking and left. Considering how quiet he said that Emma didn’t think she was supposed to hear it. But that was okay. She walked the few blocks back to Mary Margaret and David’s house. 

 

The next day, David insisted on going over to the apartment with Emma and also insisted that she get their extra dresser, despite Emma arguing that her old Volkswagon bug probably couldn’t hold it and that she could go out and buy one. David managed to shove it into the bug. Emma drove them over to her new shared apartment and parked, then helped David carry the dresser out of the car and over to the door. Killian was home and buzzed them in.

As soon as they got into the hallway, Killian came out of the apartment. “Swan, here, let me help with that,” he said, rushing over to lift one of the sides of the dresser.

“We got it, Killian–”

“No, we don’t, Emma. I, for one, appreciate the help,” David grunted as they pulled the dresser into the apartment and into Emma’s new room, setting it down against the wall. David brushed the dust off his hands and onto his jeans, then held out his hand to shake Killian’s. “Hi, I’m David, Emma’s friend,” he introduced himself.

Killian shook his hand. “Killian Jones, new roommate as of today,” he said and turned to Emma. “I’m assuming you have clothes to go with that?” he asked. Emma nodded. “Well, then, lead the way, Swan.” He gestured to the doorway.

“Killian, it’s two boxes and a suitcase, I think I can get it,” Emma argued.

Killian just gave her an exasperated look. “I know we’ve only known each other for a little bit, but I’m a gentleman and it wouldn’t be very good form if I let you bring everything up here on your own, now would it?” He asked.

“She won’t be doing it alone, she has me to help,” David said, causing Killian to turn to him and Emma to roll her eyes.

“Fine, both of you can help, just stop staring each other down,” Emma mumbled, causing both pairs of eyes to stare at her instead. She left the room, mumbling something neither of them could hear. “If you both want to help, let’s go!” Emma called from the living room. David and Killian followed her out of the apartment and down to her car. Emma grabbed her suitcase and David and Killian grabbed a box each. Emma closed the door and walked right back up to the apartment.

They put the stuff down on the floor of Emma’s room. “Do you want a ride back to your place?” She asked David, who shook his head.

“Nah, walking gives me a chance to lose all the extra pounds from Snow’s cooking,” David said, patting his stomach for effect.

Emma just shook her head. “You literally chase criminals for a living, David,” Emma said flatly.

David gave her a look. “Are you seriously doubting that Mary Margaret’s cooking can’t give me a few more pounds? I’m gonna tell her you said that,” he added, walking past her and Killian and into the living room. 

Killian turned to Emma with a very confused look. “I’m sorry, Snow?” He asked.

“It’s a nickname for Mary Margaret, David’s wife. We got drunk one night like–I don’t know–five years ago or something and Mary Margaret said she could talk to birds and we wandered around Central Park super late at night looking for birds. It didn’t work out so well. Now David and I call her Snow White, but usually just Snow,” Emma explained, not bothering holding back her smile at the memory. 

“Sounds like the three of you are really close, Swan,” Killian replied.

Emma nodded. “Yeah, we are. Now come on, I know this was originally your apartment, but it’s still gonna be weird if you’re hanging out in here alone,” she said, nodding towards the door.

Killian walked out into the living room where David was sitting on the couch flipping through channels on the TV. “David! What happened to you walking home?” Emma asked.

David didn’t even turn. Killian just sat down on one of the stools. “Killian, do you mind if I stick around for a little bit and watch some TV?” He asked.

Killian just opened his book and glanced at Emma before looking back at his book. “Stay as long as you want, mate,” he answered.

David grinned and gave Emma a victory look. She just rolled her eyes. “Fine, I guess I’ll just go...unpack or whatever.” She walked back into her new room and closed the door, sighing against it. 

It didn’t take long for Emma to unpack her clothes and when she was done she came back into the living room to find the TV off and David gone. Killian had moved to the couch but was still reading. “Where’d David go?” 

“He left, like, five minutes after you went to unpack. Said he really did need to get back to Mary Margaret,” Killian answered without looking up. 

Emma shook her head a little. “Sorry...about, well, him. I guess. He’s a bit protective and I know I saw him glaring at you a bit,” she apologized. 

Killian rested his book on his stomach and looked at Emma. “No need to apologize, Swan, I know a thing or two about protective older brothers, believe it or not. And, it’s kind of nice. It means you’ve got someone out there who cares for you. Although, I’d wager it’s more than just David that cares about you. Am I right?” He asked. 

Emma nodded and walked over to the couch. Killian sat up, allowing Emma to sit. “Yeah. I’ve got Mary Margaret to care about me, too. I probably would’ve starved to death already if it wasn’t for her. She’s a really good cook. David and I are always telling her if she ever stops wanting to be a teacher, she could become a cook,” she explained, smiling a bit. 

“How’d you meet Mary Margaret and David?” Killian asked. 

Emma’s smile turned into a grin. “That’s a really dumb story, are you sure you want to hear it?” Killian nodded, even more interested now. “So, six or so years ago all of us lived in Boston. One night, I was at this bar and I was kind of drunk and throwing darts and David and Snow came in and asked to play and then it just...never ended I guess,” she explained. “I guess it’s not as dumb as I thought. Just coincidental or something. I don’t know,” she added. 

“Sounds a bit more like fate.”

“Do you believe in fate?”

Killian shrugged, ducking his eyes to the couch. “I don’t know. Maybe? I don’t know,” he repeated. “Do you?”

Emma mirrored his shrug. “Not really. I’d rather believe I’m actually in control of my life and not some random, unseen force like fate, you know?”

He nodded. “I know exactly what you mean. For a while, I didn’t think I was in control of my life. There was some...stuff that I really preferred to blame on fate or destiny instead of owning up to it and accepting that it was my fault. Oh, my friends hated that,” he said. They were dancing around sensitive topics. Both of them knew it, but neither of them pushed. “Not to, uh, change the subject or anything, but I just realized we didn’t talk about food shopping yesterday, and we should probably do that,” Killian said.

“What about food shopping?”

“My old roommate and I had this system where every week or so we’d go to Walmart or someplace and get food for the week or so, and every time we’d switch off who paid. I was just wondering if you would want to do it that way, us going shopping together and both of us get to eat whatever we buy, or we do our own separate shopping. It’s up to you, Swan,” Killian added.

Emma shrugged again. “I think I’m a bigger fan of shopping together, mostly because I’m terrible at making shopping lists and end up going to store multiple times in a week,” she answered.

“Works for me,” Killian said and stood up. “I’ve really got to grade some tests now. Our stupid ScanTron machine broke last week so I have to actually grade tests instead of just scanning them.” He went into his room but left his door open. Emma put her feet up onto the coffee table and turned on the TV. She could do this. She could have an attractive roommate with one hand who seemed like he had walls at least half as high as Emma’s. It was going to be fine.


	2. Chapter 2

Things were going fine. Just fine. Monday night, Killian had more papers to grade and scores to put in a grade book and Emma had to work on finding a skip. 

Tuesday night, when Emma walked out of her room in a slightly-tight dress and heels on, she was fairly certain she saw Killian’s eyebrows shoot up and disappear for a moment when he saw her. “Got a hot date, Swan?” he asked, only partially joking.

Emma let out a small laugh. “Yeah, I wish. I’ve got to go catch this guy at this bar which means I’m probably gonna get a drink spilled on this dress and I’m probably gonna have to chase after him, but I’m gonna get paid. Still not better than a hot date, though,” she added.

Killian seemed to relax slightly. “Have fun, or however I’m supposed to respond to that information,” he said, turning his attention back to the laptop on the coffee table. Emma just nodded and left the apartment.  
She got some alcoholic drink spilled on her dress. She wasn’t entirely sure what it was, but it made her a bit mad, even if she already knew it was going to happen. The skip wasn’t very fast, didn’t even make it to his car before Emma caught him.

Once she was done with him, Emma drove back to her shared apartment, Killian still grading papers when she walked in, “Still up?” She asked, checking the time on her phone. A little after ten. “Isn’t it a school night?” She asked.

Killian gave her a slightly amused look. “Yes, well, I promised I’d have these graded by tomorrow, so now I've got to finish them. Let me tell you, freshmen kids who don’t care about biology at all aren’t getting very good scores,” he said. 

Emma hesitated for a minute, dropping her keys on the kitchen counter. “Want some help or something? I caught the guy and don’t have to go to work tomorrow. It might go a bit faster,” she offered.

Killian paused his grading to turn to her. “You’d really do that?” Emma nodded. “I...the help would be greatly appreciated,” he replied.

“Just let me change out of this really quick and I’ll help, okay?” Emma asked. It was Killian’s turn to nod. Emma went into her room and changed out of her dress and into sweatpants and one of David’s shirts she stole years ago. She came back out and dropped onto the couch. “What do you want me to do?”

Killian handed her his open laptop. The virtual gradebook was already pulled up. “I can do the actual grading part, all you need to do is find the student’s name and put in the corresponding grade. That okay?” He asked. 

Emma nodded. “Of course, I’m the one who offered to help, remember?” She replied, grabbing the stack of already graded papers and finding the correct kid. 

“Aye, and I really appreciate it,” Killian said. He sounded tired. Emma just flashed him a smile and they worked in semi-silence, Killian occasionally complaining about how his students were smart, and he knew they were smart, they just didn’t try on the tests. 

It was kind of nice. Emma wondered if some of the teachers she’d had at any of the many high schools she started–before she dropped out, of course–ever thought of her like that. Probably not. She didn’t dwell on it. “So, why teach high schoolers? I remember high school, everything and everyone was absolutely terrible,” she asked.

Killian shrugged. “I like science and if the freshmen are terrible to me I make a new seating chart that they all hate for about a month. That usually makes them calm down for at least another two weeks,” he answered, handing her another graded test. “Plus, it’s really fun to listen to fourteen year olds talking about each other and all the drama,” he added.

Emma smiled. “Seems reasonable. Hearing all the drama around me was easily the best part of high school.”

The corner of Killian’s mouth ticked up as he glanced at her. “Are you saying you never had any drama of your own, Swan? I remember being a teenager. All of the friend groups had some sort of drama always going on,” he pointed out.

“I...moved around a lot. Never really stayed in one place long enough to have a friend group and all the drama that goes along with it,” Emma replied, trying not to dive straight into her terrible childhood. “Is that the last test?” she asked after putting the grade into the computer. 

Killian nodded. “Thanks for helping me with those. Made it go a lot quicker.”

“No problem,” Emma said, putting Killian’s laptop on the coffee table and standing up. “Goodnight, Killian.” 

“Night, Swan,” Killian replied, running a hand through his hair and glancing at her. Emma went to her room and closed the door. She fell asleep within minutes while Killian gathered up all the now-graded tests, trying–and failing–not to think about Emma barely knowing him and automatically offering to help him out. He was also failing at trying not to think about how Emma had looked in her dress when she came home. 

 

They went shopping on Saturday, Killian knocking on Emma’s bedroom door around eleven to wake her up. She let out a very loud groan that Killian could hear from outside the door. He opened it up in time to see Emma yank her comforter all the way over her head. “Swan, it’s eleven and we’ve got to go food shopping. You have to get up,” Killian said, leaning against her door frame with an amused look on his face. 

“Or I could go back to sleep,” Emma suggested from underneath her covers. 

“The quicker we go the quicker you can go back to bed, love,” Killian pointed out, the nickname falling out of his mouth before he could stop it. 

Emma’s head appeared. “Can we get lunch, too?” She asked, either not noticing or not caring about the nickname. 

Killian nodded. “But I’m buying the groceries so you buy lunch, deal?”

“Deal. Now get out so I can get changed,” Emma said. Killing turned around and left, closing the door behind him. Emma forced herself up out of her bed and threw on some clothes and her shoes, along with her favorite red leather jacket. She threw her hair up and out of the way and made sure to grab her wallet and phone before leaving her room and making a stop in the bathroom. 

They left ten minutes later, Emma eating a pop tart and falling asleep in Killian’s car. “I’m pretty sure it’s dangerous to fall asleep while eating,” he said while they were stuck in New York City traffic. 

“What can I say? I like to live dangerously,” Emma responded, resting her head against the window. “And, you know, if I die from eating a pop tart, I am perfectly fine with that,” she added.

Killian shook his head slightly. “I think you need to get your priorities straight, Swan,” he said.

“Nah, my priorities are fine. It’s my eating habits I should probably fix eventually,” Emma replied, finishing off her breakfast. “And, you know, you just don’t know me well enough yet because dying from a pop tart is honestly probably the exact way I’m going to die, given how much I eat them,” she added.

Killian couldn’t argue with that. “You said ‘yet’.”

“What?”

Killian flashed her a grin. “You said I don’t know you well enough yet, which implies I’m going to get to know you well enough for that,” he said. Emma mumbled something under her breath. “And I look forward to that,” he added.

“I kinda figured we’re gonna get to know each other pretty well since we’re, you know, living together,” Emma said, mentally cursing herself for saying ‘yet’. 

Killian gave her a look that was far too knowing. “You’re not wrong, Swan, but I’m fairly certain that’s not what you’re implying. Though, as you pointed out, I don’t know you well enough yet.” 

Emma glanced at him before looking back out the window. “We should pretend I never said that.”

“Why?”

“Because I say dumb stuff that I shouldn’t be held accountable for?” Emma replied.

“Why’s ‘yet’ a dumb thing to say?”

“Because me saying it has been dragged out to the point where we’re still talking about it,” she answered.

“Fair point,” Killian admitted. “I won’t bring it up, but I’m also not going to forget it,” he added.

“Seems fair enough,” Emma responded as they pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store. He parked and they got out, Emms stumbling slightly over her own feet. Killian reached a hand out slightly as if to steady her, but thought better of it and didn’t touch her. “Right, so, is there an actual shopping list or are we just going aisle by aisle?” she asked.

“Aisle by aisle,” Killian answered, pulling a cart out of the line.

He had no idea what he was getting into. “Swan you need real food, not just pop tarts and three thousand bags of chips.” Killian said for the fifth time. They were only about four aisles in and Emma already grabbed three different boxes of pop tarts and five family-sized bags of chips. 

“And you need to eat some junk food every so often,” Emma replied, dropping a loaf of bread into the cart.

“Wow I think bread is the first slightly-healthy thing you’ve put in here.”

Emma made a face. “I am an adult, Jones, I do occasionally use bread to make sandwiches. I don’t survive purely on pop tarts, you know.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” Killian muttered, and Emma glared at him for a minute. “Can we go get healthy food now? Or, you know, dinner stuff? You might be able to survive on pop tarts and sandwiches, but I prefer a little more sustenance,” he said.

“First of all, you get rude when shopping; second of all, there are green beans, corn, and a bag of broccoli in the cart right now; third of all...I’ve got no third thing,” Emma said, sounding slightly disappointed in herself.

Killian ran his hand through his hair. “Okay, fine, I’ll let up on the whole ‘berating you about your eating habits’ thing. I’m sorry,” he apologized. “But we really do need more than snack foods, you know that right?” 

Emma have him a look. “Of course I know that. I may act like a child occasionally and enjoy snacks, but I lived with Mary Margaret and David. Do you really think I didn’t learn anything about not eating like shit?”

“Honestly, Swan, I don’t know your friends, so I couldn’t answer that,” Killian said. 

“Well, I did learn. I wouldn’t have survived this long if I hadn’t, Jones. We just started at all the snack aisles. Relax a bit, will you?” Emma asked. Killian ran his hand through his hair as Emma took the cart from him. “Come on, let’s go get actual food before you freak out again,” Emma said, leading the way. 

“Yeah, yeah, okay, Swan,” Killian mumbled, slightly wide-eyed. He followed her out of the aisle. She was humming something as she walked. Killian just followed and listened, both of them occasionally stopping and putting food into the cart. Killian thought he recognized whatever Emma was humming, until it seemed like she switched it and suddenly he was clueless again. “What are you humming?” He asked, speeding up slightly to walk next to her. 

Emma glanced at him. “Disney songs.”

“Disney songs?”

“Disney songs,” Emma confirmed. “You seem surprised.”

Killian shrugged. “I’ll admit, I am a bit confused.” He glanced at her and one corner of his mouth went up. “I didn’t know All Star by Smash Mouth counted as a Disney song.”

Emma smiled at him. “I kind of group Disney and Dreamworks together as one, and Snow, David, and I have watched Shrek way too many times. We’ve collectively agreed it counts as a Disney movie to us,” she answered. 

“Why have you guys watched a children’s movie so much? Follow up question, did you watch all of them?” Killian asked. 

“It’s the only movie we can agree on during movie nights, honestly. It’s such a dumb movie, but I think I could probably quote it verbatim at this point. And, yes, I’ve seen all of them. The first one’s my favorite though.” Emma answered, putting hotdogs into the cart. “Why?”

“Just a question.”

“How did you recognize the song? How many times have you seen Shrek?”

Killian shook his head. “Too many times. Sometimes, because I have nothing else to do and Regina and Robin have actual lives, Regina’ll bring her son Henry over and–before Robin moved out, his son Roland lives with us–I’d babysit them. They really liked Shrek. They could probably quote it verbatim, too.”

They continued shopping, neither of them making fun of the other for their eating habits. They finished and Killian paid and Emma helped him load all the bags into the trunk of his car. “So, I believe there was a promise of getting lunch?” Emma asked when they got into the car. 

“Aye, and I believe the deal was we get lunch and you pay,” Killian said. 

“I know. Why do you think I brought my wallet?” She asked, pulling it out. 

“Fair point. Where do you want to go, Swan?” 

“Honestly, I’m so hungry I don’t really care,” Emma answered. 

“How about Shake Shack?” Killian suggested. 

“Works for me. I’m assuming we’ll have to stop back at the apartment and put away the food first?” Emma asked, and Killian nodded. 

“Aye, a lot of what we got needs to be refrigerated,” Killian pointed out. They drove back to the apartment in mostly comfortable silence, the radio playing softly. 

“If you could only watch one movie for the rest of your life, what would it be?” Emma asked as they pulled up to the apartment building. 

Killian gave her a look. “I’m sorry, what?”

“One movie, the rest of your life. What would it be?” 

Killian shook his head. “I-I don’t know, Swan. Can the questions wait for Shake Shack, though? The groceries are waiting.”

Emma nodded. “Yeah, okay, but I’m gonna ask again at Shake Shack.”

“I look forward to that. And to not needing to pay for lunch,” Killian added.

It took them ten minutes to bring everything up to the apartment and put everything away in the fridge and the cupboards, and involved a small bit of Killian glaring at Emma for putting food in the wrong spot, which made them argue for at least three more minutes, which ended with Emma pointing out how she didn’t have to buy Killian lunch if she drove herself. They called a truce. Killian drove them to Shake Shack and they finally got lunch and shakes and sat down at a table. “So, back to the question before.”

Killian arched an eyebrow. “Question?”

“One movie for the rest of your life, what would it be?” Emma repeated.

Killian shook his head slightly. “I’d have to say the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie.”

“Why?”

“I don’t believe ‘why’ was part of the original question, Swan,” Killian said.

Emma gave him a look. “Humor me, Jones.”

Killian sighed. “I...I just like it. I like the pirates and Jack Sparrow–”

Emma mumbled something under her breath that made Killian chuckle. “I’m sorry, what was that?”

Emma blushed. “I might’ve said ‘Captain,’” she muttered, then proceeded to shove part of her burger into her mouth. 

Killian grinned. “Ah, I see. Ready to defend Captain Jack Sparrow’s honor?” Emma rolled her eyes. “As I was saying, it’s just a good movie with good characters and I really like pirates,” he answered. It wasn’t the entire truth. Emma could tell. She also didn’t say anything about it. “What about you, Swan? One movie, the rest of your life?” 

“Jurassic Park. The first one,” Emma added. “It’s the best one, hands down.”

“I have to agree with you on that one. Favorite book?”

“What?’ 

Killian’s eyebrow went up. “Questions, Swan. If you can ask me the movie question, I’m going to ask for your favorite book. Is that okay?”

Emma nodded. “Yeah, I just wasn’t...expecting it. I guess.” Emma actually had to think about that question. “The Phantom Tollbooth,” she answered.

Killian tilted his head slightly. “I think I might’ve read that one. What’s it about?”

“Really?” Killian nodded. “So, it’s about this kid Milo, and he’s bored all the time with everything. So, one day Milo comes home and he sees this box and it turns into this tollbooth and Milo goes through and arrives in this weird land and he goes on a crazy adventure to save these princesses and save the land and then he comes back home and realizes how great and cool the world really is,” Emma explained, rushing over the words slightly. “What about you?”

“To be honest, I don’t have an actual favorite. I just like adventure books. I’m a teacher, I can’t go on adventures or anything, but it’s nice to read it and imagine it, you know?” he asked, and Emma nodded. 

A couple of raindrops hit the windows. Emma jumped slightly when she heard the thunder. Killian’s head was still tilted, but his eyebrows dropped low. “Are you alright, Swan?”

Emma nodded again. “Perfectly fine.” It was one of the worst lies she’s ever told. Killian knew it, and he hadn’t even known Emma for all that long. Her phone went off. It was Mary Margaret asking her if she was okay. She kind of wasn’t. But, on the brightside, Killian didn’t point out the obvious lie, and both of them were done with lunch, so they could go back to the apartment. They drove back in silence, and Mary Margaret kept sending Emma links that she didn’t need until they were almost home and Emma saw the first strike of lightning. 

“Are you sure your alright?” Killian asked as they walked through the parking lot into the apartment building. 

“Perfectly fine, just like I said earlier,” Emma replied, but it still wasn’t a very good lie. Killian finally called her out on it. When Emma moved to go to her room, he pulled her back.

“Swan, wait, you’re very clearly not alright. What’s going on?” He asked.

Emma shook her head. “Nothing’s going on, okay? I’m fine. Drop it,” she said. Killian didn’t let go of Emma’s hand. 

“No, that’s not true, and I don’t want to drop it. I want to help. Please,” he added quietly. 

Emma sighed and glanced up at the ceiling, and then jumped when she heard more thunder. “I don’t like storms, okay? Like, really don’t like them. Like, I kind of sort of can’t really sleep when there’s a storm going on outside,” she admitted. 

Killian still didn’t let go of her hand. “So, you’ve got a fear of rainstorms?” he asked.

Emma ran her free hand over her face. “Yeah, yeah, something like that,” she mumbled. “We picked up hot chocolate stuff, right?” she asked, and Killian nodded. “Cool, cool, great,” she muttered, pulling her hand from Killian’s. “I’ll-I’ll be in my room if you need me.” She went into her room and closed her door. Killian just ran his hand through his hair. He felt bad for her, even though it was the easiest to tell that she did not want his, or anyone’s, pity. 

He went into his room and flopped down on his bed. He had papers to grade. He always had papers to grade. For a brief second, Killian considered asking Emma if she wanted to watch something with him while he graded assignments. He didn’t. That was probably for the best. He sighed and sat down at his desk, then got to actually reading the short answers for the papers he assigned. Why did he do this to himself? Killian didn’t regret being a teacher, he liked it. He just didn’t really like some of the kids in his class, no matter how smart they actually were. 

It was still raining when Killian finally finished grading papers hours later. It was five p.m. when he finally finished grading, and decided he should probably go eat dinner. And maybe see if Emma wanted to eat. With him. He walked out of his room and over to Emma’s, pausing for a second. He could hear some sort of noise coming from her room. Probably a movie. That was a weird thought. Killian pushed it out of his brain and knocked on Emma’s door. The noise paused and Emma opened her door. Her hair was pulled up into a bun, with small strands hanging out of it. “Hey, Killian. What’s up?” She had changed out of the red leather jacket and into a much comfier regular sweatshirt. Killian really needed to stop thinking.

“I was just wondering if you were hungry. It is, you know, dinnertime.” Killian wished he knew how to shut his mouth. “Sorry, that was a little weird. I’m gonna go eat dinner, feel free to join me,” he said and turned around, barely missing Emma’s amused smile.

“I’m okay, I’m probably just gonna eat something a bit later,” Emma replied, retreating back into her room. She didn’t close the door again, though. That seemed like a small victory. Not that Killian was thinking about that. What was wrong with him? He wasn’t thinking these things a week ago. He heated up a super healthy dinner of microwaveable chicken nuggets and mashed potatoes. “You’re eating chicken nuggets and you’re judging me for my eating habits?” Emma asked, leaning against the wall. She was smiling again.

Killian turned and shrugged. “I’m lazy. Plus, I never said my eating habits weren’t terrible, too,” he added.

“I’ll admit that’s true.” Emma walked over and dropped down next to him on the couch. “So, do all teachers eat like shit or is it just you?” she asked. Killian gave her a look, but she was laughing. “Wait, let me adjust my question. Do all high school biology teachers eat like shit, or is it just you?” 

Killian shook his head slightly, but he had a small half-smile on his face. “Is this payback for judging your pop tarts this morning?” he asked.

Emma shook her head. “Nah, I just have a lot of nervous energy when there’s a rainstorm. Or thunderstorm. Any kind of storm, really. Anyway, the energy comes out as a lot of anger and being mean to people. Sorry,” she added and stood back up. “I’m gonna make some hot chocolate. You want some?” 

“I’m alright, but thanks.” Emma just nodded once and made herself a cup of hot chocolate. She put some whipped cream and cinnamon on top, and almost dropped the entire thing when thunder boomed. She cursed under her breath and sat back down on the couch. “Are you okay?” Killian asked. 

Emma nodded again. “I promise I’m fine. I’ve been dealing with whatever this weird fear is since I was little. I can handle it,” she answered, conveniently leaving out the part about being an orphan. 

“Is that..cinnamon on your chocolate?” Killian asked, affectively changing the subject. Emma nodded. “May I ask why?”

Emma nodded again. “I went to this coffee shop when I was young and this girl I was with accidentally dumped cinnamon on my hot cocoa, but I didn’t get fancy coffee shop hot cocoa very often, so I didn’t really do anything about it. Just drank it, and it was really good, so I just kept doing it,” she explained, leaving out some slightly-important details.

Killian didn’t ask any more questions, just nodded like he knew what it was like to not go to any fancy coffee shops a lot. He finally turned on the TV, handing Emma the remote to let her find a channel. She settled on Iron Man. “A fan of Marvel movies?” Killian asked. Emma nodded. 

“They’re kind of ridiculous, but also really good and I think Infinity War actually killed me for a good two weeks,” she said. 

“I don’t think I saw that one,” Killian said. 

Emma’s jaw dropped slightly. “I’m gonna go out and buy that movie and then we’re gonna watch it. You don’t have a choice, sorry,” she added. 

Killian smiled. “I’m okay with that. When is this movie night going to happen?”

Emma shrugged. “Not sure yet. Sometime that isn’t right now, though.”

They watched the movie and it appeared whatever channel they were watching was having a Marvel marathon, as after the first Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk came on, and then the second Iron Man. Killian went to bed sometime during the second Iron Man movie. Emma stayed up and kept watching, only getting up to go plug her phone in and to make more hot cocoa. 

She was content to sit there and watch Marvel movies all night. The rain, on the other hand, had a much different plan. Around two a.m. the power went out. Emma was only about an hour into Captain America when lightning struck and everything went dark. She didn’t mind the dark, she just didn’t like hearing the rain hitting the windows or the walls or the sound of thunder booming every few minutes. It sucked. Emma grabbed a blanket from off of her bed and curled up with it on the couch. She was only sitting there for about five minutes before there was a noise coming from Killian’s room. Killian was lit up by the next strike of lightning. “Swan? What are you still doing up?” he asked. His voice was scratchy. 

“The power went out and I can hear every drop of rain, so I can’t sleep.” Thunder boomed again and Emma jumped slightly. She cursed under her breath. 

Killian came over and dropped down next to her on the couch. Emma was shaking slightly, and it wasn’t just because she was cold. Killian yawned. “Come here, Swan, let me help,” he muttered and opened his arms. It took one more boom of thunder for Emma to wrap her arms around him and curl up on him. Killian pulled his legs up onto the couch under Emma and wrapped his arms around her. She was still slightly shaking. Killian could feel her heart beating much faster than it should’ve. “Have I told you about these two annoying kids in one of my classes?” He murmured into her hair. Emma shook her head against his shirt. “Well, these two kids, Felix and Peter, are in my third hour and it’s barely been a month and I might end up strangling them.” Emma laughed once. “They’re both absolute demon children. They’re smart, but always talking to each other. Seriously. Always. They literally sit on opposite sides of the class and shout to each other. It’s the worst possible thing. I’m tempted to just kick them out,” he complained. His left hand was drawing light circles on her back while his right hand carded through her hair.

Emma wasn’t shaking nearly as much. Killian thought that was a good sign. “Can you actually kick kids out of your class?” she mumbled against him. Her eyes were closed and it seemed like she was actually starting to fall asleep. 

Killian just made a noncommittal noise. “I think so. I’ve never needed or wanted to before, but I’ve asked Regina–she’s the principal–and she said to stick it out until the end of the semester. I don’t know if I can, though,” he said. Emma hummed against him. He could feel her heartbeat slowing down. Killian closed his eyes.

“Thanks, Killian,” Emma whispered as she fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

The storm was gone by the time Emma and Killian woke up, both groaning slightly. They probably shouldn’t have slept on the couch. Neither of them had really been thinking the night before. Emma reluctantly stood up and got off of Killian, wrapping her blanket around her shoulders, shivering slightly from the cold. Killian adjusted the way he was sitting so that Emma could sit back down on the couch. In the months to come, she blamed her being half-asleep for her head falling back onto Killian’s shoulder. “You can use me as a pillow, love, but at least share the blanket,” he muttered. Emma didn’t say anything about the endearment, just threw her legs and some of the blanket over Killian’s lap. 

“Did the heat turn off when the power went out or something?” Emma asked, closing her eyes again, completely content with just going back to sleep. It also helped that Killian was extremely warm and Emma happened to be extremely cold. 

Killian wrapped his arms around Emma’s shoulders. “Probably? We should probably go check on that,” he suggested, neither of them making any move to actually do that.

“Or we could stay right here and share the warmth and not deal with whatever at whatever time it is,” Emma countered. “I mean, I didn’t even go to sleep until after two a.m. so if you stay right here this’ll be great,” she added.

“Swan, you’re freezing, like, all the time. What warmth is being shared?” Killian asked, his head dropping lightly against Emma’s. They were very comfy and close to each other considering they only knew each other for a week. “And, you know, most of the first part of what you said made no sense at all.”

Emma yawned. “I’m tired and most of what I say doesn’t make sense anyway. And, the warmth I’m sharing is the blanket, thank you very much,” she said. 

Killian chuckled. “Seriously though, I’ve known you for a week but you’re somehow always freezing. How?” he asked.

Emma attempted to shrug. It didn’t really work. “I don’t know, I just am,” she answered. “I think it’s some biological thing. You teach science, that’s a thing, right?”

“I teach high school biology, I have no idea.”

Emma’s eyes closed. They fell asleep for another hour. 

Killian woke up first and gently adjusted Emma so he could get up and check the thermostat. Emma stayed asleep and curled up under her blanket on the couch. Killian adjusted the temperature to something warmer and much more bearable, and then got started on breakfast. 

Emma woke up ten minutes later. “Are you making waffles?” She asked, poking her head up over the couch. Her eyes were barely open. 

Killian didn’t turn around, but he nodded. “Aye. Sunday mornings are waffle mornings.”

“But you didn’t make waffles last week when I moved in. That was a Sunday.”

That did throw Killian off. It slipped his mind that Emma had only been living with him for a week. It felt like much longer. “Last week was an exception because you moved in after waffle time. When Robin and his son Roland lived here with me, Sunday’s were always waffle days. Is that okay?”

“Fine by me,” Emma replied. And it was. Emma liked waffles. Almost as much as she already liked Killian. Woah, that was a thought Emma was not prepared for at nine in the morning. She dropped back down onto the couch and reached for the remote, which was sitting on the coffee table. It only took a minute of struggling for her to grab it and turn on the tv. “Hey, did you turn on the heat?” She asked, realizing she wasn’t as cold as she had been before. 

“Aye, I figured you wanted the apartment warmer. I did too, to be honest,” Killian answered, glancing at the couch. 

Emma flipped the channel to HGTV, where someone was trying to buy a house on House Hunters. “I did. Do. What I’m trying to say is thanks, I’m not nearly as cold now,” she said, closing her eyes again. 

She actually managed to fall asleep. Again. Killian wasn’t entirely sure how, just that five minutes later he came over carrying a plate of waffles in each hand, and she was asleep on the couch again. He put the plates down on the coffee table and gently shook Emma awake. “Swan, the waffles are ready.”

Emma slowly blinked open her eyes and adjusted her position so that Killian could sit on the couch. He handed her the plate of waffles. “I’m very tired and that’s why I’m saying that you’re probably the best roommate I’ve ever had,” she said, stabbing into the top waffle. “I mean, Elsa was great, but she never made waffles in the morning just because it was waffle day.” She didn’t even cut up the waffle, just started shoving it into her mouth. 

“Thanks; you’re going to choke if you shove that entire thing into your mouth,” Killian pointed out. 

Emma shrugged, but she pulled the majority of the waffle away. “But I’m not going to because I’m at least awake enough to not shove the entire thing into my mouth.” Killian wasn’t too sure about that. 

 

Two days later, on Tuesday, Emma walked back into the apartment around noon, groaning and holding her side. 

The skip she caught thought he could run, and he did, but Emma caught up with him pretty quickly. He then kicked Emma in the ribs, which knocked the wind out of her, but she still managed to catch him when his car wouldn’t start up. Pure luck. It was great. What wasn’t so great was that now it hurt to breathe and laugh and do anything that involved moving in any way. Including walking, but Emma didn’t think that was from the skip kicking her. 

She grabbed an ice pack from the freezer and dropped down onto the couch and immediately regretted it because it hurt. She put the ice where she was positive she was bruised, and then somehow fell asleep. It didn’t really make sense, because she wasn’t tired. Not physically, at least. 

She woke up two hours before Killian got home, still with ice on her ribs and scrolling through some app on her phone. Killian was very confused when he walked through the door. “Uh, are you alright, Swan? What’s with the ice?” He asked, setting his stuff down near the door. 

“The asshole I caught kicked me. Hard,” Emma answered, not bothering to look up until she dropped her phone onto her stomach and winced. 

Killian kicked off his shoes and moved Emma’s legs onto the floor so he could actually sit down on the couch without crushing her. “Shouldn’t you–oh, I don’t know–go to the hospital, or something?” he asked. 

Emma shrugged, tossing her phone onto the coffee table. “I’m fine, it’s just a bruise. I’ve got ice on it and it’ll go away in, like, a day or two.”

“Are you sure?” Killian didn’t seem to be so sure. “I mean, I’ve never gotten kicked in the ribs or anything but that seems like the kind of thing you go to the hospital to make sure you’re alright.”

“It’s just bruised and I’ve got time off. I’m good,” she assured him. She attempted to take a deep breath. It didn’t really work. “Is it supposed to hurt when I breathe?” she asked.

Killian shook his head. “Probably not? This is why you go to a hospital. They tell you this stuff.”

Emma smiled. “Are you worried about me, Jones?”

He just gave her a slightly exasperated look. “Yes, I’m worried, you’re my roommate. I don’t want you dying.”

She laughed once and then winced. “I’m not gonna die from a kick to the ribs, whether it hurts a lot or not. I promise I’ll be fine.”

Emma was not fine. She thought the pain would go away, but it didn’t. It got worse. She called Killian at noon on Wednesday, and he actually picked up. “Swan? What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Don’t know, but, uh, I’m kind of in a lot of pain right now,” Emma answered.

“Can you move? Is there someone who can drive you to the hospital?”

“No and no. Maybe you were right and I should’ve just gone yesterday. Can you take me when you get home?” she asked. 

“Of course, can you wait a few hours?”

“Yeah, yeah, thanks,” Emma replied and hung up, dropping her phone onto the coffee table. She was pretty sure she just couldn’t move at this point. 

Killian told the other chemistry teacher to take over after school tutoring because he had to get home. When he did, Emma was sprawled out on the couch. “Come on, Swan, let’s get you to the hospital and to modern medicine,” he said.

Emma nodded and pushed herself up, and grunted. “I shouldn’t be in this much pain, it doesn’t make sense,” she complained, swatting Killian’s offer of help away. “I can walk. This is just...a precaution. Or something.”

Killian gave her a look. “I’m literally driving you to the hospital because four hours ago you said you couldn’t move. Let me help,” he said. Emma grumbled something but leaned against him for support anyways. They made it to the hospital within a decent time frame considering it was New York and there was literally always traffic. “Go sit down, I’ll grab all the paperwork,” Killian muttered. Emma just nodded and sank down into the nearest chair. 

Emma reached for the paperwork and pen as soon and Killian sat down next to her. “Answering all these questions is the one thing I can do right now,” she said, writing down different things. “I’m putting you down as my emergency contact,” she said, confusing Killian. 

“What? Why?”

“Because you’ve known me a little over a week and you’re freaking out about this, if Mary Margaret or David found out I was in the hospital they would get super scared and they would freak out and rush all the way over here and they just don’t need me adding that stress onto them,” she explained. “They’ve done so much for me, I can’t make them stress out about this and try to help out. Not after I just lived on their couch for two months. Get it?” Killian nodded.

Emma finished the paperwork within a few minutes. She started to push herself up to go hand it to the lady at the desk, but Killian dropped her. “Swan, you can barely move, let me take that up,” he said, holding out his hand. Emma let out a huff, but gave him the papers anyway and sank back down into her chair. When he came back, it only took Emma a few minutes to notice him tapping against the armrest. 

“Hey, are you okay? You seem a bit nervous,” she pointed out. 

Killian glanced at her. “I’m fine. I just...don't really like hospitals. At all,” he answered. It took Emma a second to realize why. 

“You don’t have to wait with me, you can go home. I’ll be fine,” she said. “It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been alone at a hospital. You don’t have to be here,” she repeated. 

Killian shook his head and flashed her a smile. “It’s alright, Swan. I don’t like hospitals, but last time I was in one I was alone. And scared. And angry. And, you know, injured. I’m not just going to leave you to fend for yourself,” he added. 

“Don’t you have, like, papers to grade, though? You always have papers to grade,” she pointed out. 

Killian shrugged. “My kids are used to fast grading from me, but they can deal with me being like a normal teacher and taking more than two days to grade papers. Especially because this is kind of an emergency,” he said. 

“But now I feel bad because you’re here and you don’t like it here—”

He shook his head. “It’s fine, Swan, I promise. I’m alright. It just brings back bad memories. That’s all. I’m not gonna leave and make you go wait alone. Besides, how are you gonna get home without your dashing roommate to drive you home?” He asked. 

The corners of Emma’s mouth ticked up. “A cab?” She replied. “If you’re absolutely sure you’re fine with being here, then I guess I’d like it if you stayed with me,” she said. 

Killian let out a laugh. “You guess?”

Emma shrugged. “Can’t let your ego get too big; you already called yourself dashing,” she pointed out. “I gotta balance it out.”

“Oh, so that’s how this works now?”

“As of today, yeah.”

Killian shook his head slightly, but he was smiling. “I gotta say, you’re not like anyone else I’ve ever met, Emma Swan.”

Emma raised her eyebrows. “Is that supposed to be a compliment or an insult?”

“Compliment,” he assured her. “I have yet to find something to insult you for.”

“I mean, you already made fun of my eating habits.”

“True,” he agreed. “But that’s saying you need to eat real food and you can’t live off of pop tarts, that’s not me insulting you. I literally ate dinosaur nuggets the other night, so I’d be a bit of a hypocrite,” he added. 

“That is true. And I don’t survive solely on pop tarts. I eat Ramen too. And things I can microwave,” Emma pointed out. 

Killian nodded. “Truce, then?” He asked, holding out his hand. Emma shook his hand, agreeing to the truce. They sat in silence for a few minutes; Killian continuously tapping his fingers against the armrest between them. 

After nearly ten minutes of consistent tapping, Emma finally grabbed his hand. He only seemed a little caught off guard. “Sorry, I can only deal with so much tapping,” she explained, but she didn’t let go of his hand. 

He didn’t let go of hers. “It’s alright, I don’t mind. The tapping’s just a nervous tick, I guess.” Neither of them continued the conversation. It kind of hurt Emma to talk. And breathe. She didn’t bring that up. “I had to stay in the hospital for a week,” Killian said. Emma stares at him. “There were a lot of machines and wires hooked up to more machines and a very consistent beeping that was definitely more annoying than my tapping,” he joked, glancing at her. Emma squeezed his hand lightly. “I didn’t—I was confined to that stupid hospital bed for a week and then they let me go home but I still had to come and do physical therapy and get this replacement that still kinda sucks. And I needed a job and I had a bit of money stored away and got that apartment and Robin knocked on the door with his kid Roland and they just kind of forced themselves into my life.” He took a breath. 

Emma gave him an encouraging half-smile. 

“I already had a degree from college, going to become a teacher before meeting-meeting someone and then all of this happened and I found a job at the high school because Robin had connections and suddenly I was a biology teacher because I really like science. And remember when I said I set Robin and Regina up?” He asked. Emma nodded. “Regina’s that connection Robin had, because she’s the principal at the high school. Robin had a sitter for Roland and we were gonna go out to a bar and I suggested Regina should come, I could pay her back for giving me a job, and she and Robin hit it off once they were out of a school setting and then when Henry and Roland met, they hit it off and—wow, I’m rambling a lot.” Killian took a breath. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine, it’s kind of distracting me from the pain. A bit,” Emma replied. “Plus, we’ve been living together for a little over a week and I don’t mind knowing you better. I mean, you know about my fear of storms, I feel like it’s only fair I know something about you. And, it’s a good story,” she added. 

“Honestly it’s a little sad, and I jumped around a lot in it. But, basically, Robin and Regina pretty much adopted me and made sure I was okay all the time, and now I’m their permanent babysitter, at least for a few more years when Henry enters high school and can watch Roland on his own,” Killian explained. “You said you’ve done this hospital thing on your own before. What happened?”

Emma shrugged. “This job. It’s not exactly the safest. I’ve sprained my ankle, like, six times or something. And my wrist. Even had a concussion once or twice when I still lived in Boston. I only had to do it alone because that was after Snow and David moved here. Otherwise, they would’ve been right next to me. I think one time they were tempted to just mail me chicken noodle soup to make me feel better. I’m their unofficial kid until they inevitably have their own, and then I’ll probably be the permanent babysitter. And godmother.” Emma smiled. “Oh, I’m gonna be so mad if they don’t automatically name me godmother,” she added. 

Killian squeezed her hand. “I think we both have friends a lot more responsible than we are,” he said. 

Emma squeezed back. “I’m assuming they’re also not as broken as us?” It sounded like a question. 

Killian nodded. “That seems to be true, too,” he agreed. “But I think we’re doing all right. I’m, like, 95 percent functional. The other 5 percent’s just missing,” he said, holding up his left arm. “So that’s not really my fault.”

Emma made a noise that kind of resembled a laugh. “I’m...functional. I have a job. And an apartment with an apparently mostly-functional roommate. We’re alright,” she agreed. Some part of her mind wandered back to their conversation about fate a week ago. “Do you remember when we were talking about fate and destiny and whatever?” Killian nodded. “Think that had something to do with meeting our friends and each other or something?” She asked. 

“I told you when we had that conversation you meeting your friends sounded like fate. So, maybe fate had something to do with Regina and Robin and you answering that as before anyone else,” he answered. 

Emma took a shaky breath. “Wow, we got—would this be considered deep or existential?” She asked. 

Killian shrugged. “A little bit of both?” Emma’s stomach growled. “Have you eaten anything today?”

Emma thought back. “You know, I have absolutely no idea.” 

Killian pushed himself up and stretched. “Alright, I’m gonna go find us something not gross to eat. Text me if you get called into a room.” Emma nodded.

They had time for Killian to get them food and walk back from the hospital cafeteria to the waiting area and both of them were able to finish eating before Emma was called. “This is great. Just great,” she mumbled an hour after they had eaten, adjusting herself in the fairly uncomfortable chair, resting her head on her shoulder.

“Feel free to use me as a pillow. My shoulder would probably be more comfortable than whatever you're doing right now,” Killian offered.

“I thought about it, but I would be in more pain if I twisted that way. This way isn’t as bad,” Emma explained. Killian hesitated a moment before getting up and sitting down on Emma’s other side. “Okay I know I said earlier that I had to balance out your ego, but honestly, you’re pretty great. Especially right now.” She put her head on his shoulder. 

“I’m aware of that, I’m just glad that you now know it, too,” he replied.

Emma rolled her eyes. “Can I take it all back just because you said that?”

“Nope! Sorry, Swan,” he said. “I have the feeling we’re gonna be here for a long time, so you might as well take a nap,” he suggested. 

“A nap sounds like a great idea all the time,” she said, closing her eyes. 

Emma didn’t get called into a room until almost eleven o’clock. But she was finally able to get up after Killian woke her up, and a nurse came over with a wheelchair. Emma sunk down into it. “I gotta say, this is much better than walking.” The nurse brought her and Killian to a room where Emma moved onto the bed and Killian stood next to her. 

“A doctor will be in here in a few minutes, okay?” The nurse asked. Emma nodded as the other woman left. 

Doctor Whale came in three minutes later. The gist of what he ended up telling Emma was that one of her ribs had a small fracture and would heal on its own in about four weeks, they were just gonna give her medication to help with the pain and she needed to stay overnight for observation purposes. “Four weeks? I can’t just sit around doing nothing for an entire month! I have a job!” Emma protested.

Whale gave her a look. “The job that you got hurt while doing. And you’re gonna have to find a way to just relax for a month. Just don’t do anything too crazy, or anything that makes the fracture worse.”

“Can I go for runs or something?”

“I mean, yes, but it’ll hurt afterward when you’re trying to catch your breath. I wouldn’t recommend it,” Whale answered. Emma groaned and Whale left. 

“This sucks,” she growled. Killian sat down in one of the chairs by the wall. He just looked amused. “How am I supposed to do nothing for four weeks? I’m going to die of boredom,” Emma complained. 

“You can watch a lot of movies and read a lot of books in a month,” Killian suggested. 

Emma shook her head. “I can’t do that. I like to be up and moving. It’s one of the reasons I like my job; it keeps me fit and I usually have to get up and do stuff.” Killian just shrugged in response. Emma let out a sigh. “You can go home now, you know,” she added.

Killian raised an eyebrow. “Do you want me to leave you all alone overnight in a hospital?” he asked.

“Not really, but you have to go teach tomorrow and you need sleep to do that,” Emma answered.

“I already found a sub for tomorrow. I’m staying and I’m gonna sleep in this chair and then take you home in the morning and somehow make sure you relax and don’t do anything crazy for a month. Especially not work.” Emma made a face. “There’s no getting rid of me now, Swan,” he said. “Regretting taking the extra room?” he asked.

Emma shook her head. “Not yet. You’re being so incredibly nice, I would have to be some sort of horrible person to hate you right now.”

“I don’t know, I’m not the most likable,” Killian said, scratching his neck. Emma gave him a look. “Go to sleep, and when you wake up they’ll give you those meds or a prescription or whatever, and then we can go home.”


End file.
